A view of the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. – AP
KOTA KINABALU: Malaysia's Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said and Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick, together with world leaders, attended the funeral mass and burial ceremony of Pope Francis at St. Peter's Square in Vatican City on Saturday (April 26).
Among the major world leaders present were United States President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, former US president Joe Biden and former Indonesian president Joko Widodo.
The mass, attended by hundreds of thousands of people from various religions around the world, was conducted in Italian and broadcast live globally.
"On Friday, I, together with Malaysia's Ambassador to the Holy See, Hendy Anak Assan, paid our final respects to Pope Francis at St. Peter's Basilica.
"It was truly an extraordinary experience to be in this place, especially to be able to pay our last respects to Pope Francis," Ewon said in a statement on Sunday (April 27).
"Pope Francis has left us with many legacies, particularly through his discourses, views and messages to all of us, especially Catholics around the world," he said. – Bernama
